Treadmill roller structure and treadmill

ABSTRACT

A treadmill roller structure comprises a motor, a gear set and a case. The motor is an out-runner motor. The power output section of the motor rotates about stationary spindle. The rotary power output section is engaged to the gear set, while the gear set is in turn engaged to the case, thus allowing the case to rotate relatively to the spindle of the motor as well. The roller structure does not require a driving belt to transfer power from the motor to the roller, thus reduces the power loss due to frictional force during power transfer through belt driving, which enhances the performance of the motor and offers a space-saving feature. In addition, the instant disclosure also provides a treadmill.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional patent application of co-pendingapplication Ser. No. 12/818,390, filed on 18 Jun. 2010, now pending. Theentire disclosure of the prior application, Ser. No. 12/818,390, fromwhich an oath or declaration is supplied, is considered a part of thedisclosure of the accompanying Divisional application and is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The instant disclosure relates to a treadmill roller structure; inparticular, the instant disclosure relates to a roller structure in atreadmill device.

2. Description of Related Art

In the modern world, dense metropolitan population and crowded livingenvironment make it difficult for the city residents to find appropriatelocations for sport activities and fitness exercises. To address such anissue, indoor sport equipments, such as treadmills, exercise bikes orskiing machines are developed. These equipments can be installed indoor,thus breaking the spatial constrains and temporal limitations.

In a conventional treadmill, a drive belt is employed to drive therollers. In a conventional setup, a front roller and a rear roller arerespectively installed at the front side and the rear side of the base,and a treadmill belt is then set between the front roller and the rearroller, thereby enabling the treadmill belt to cyclically rotate for auser's jogging. Power is transferred through a belt placed between thefront roller and a motor, and the power output axle of the motor isconnected to one end of the belt, while the front roller connected tothe other end thereof. Therefore, as the motor operates, the belt bringsthe front roller to rotate, and the front roller in turn links thetreadmill belt, so the treadmill belt can cyclically rotate between thefront roller and the rear roller.

However, separate installations of the motor and the front roller in aprior art treadmill may cause following drawbacks. It is required toreserve space in advance for placement of the motor n the treadmillbase, so the area taken by the treadmill can be exceedingly large whichmay not be suitable for domestic applications. Besides, theconfiguration of separately installed motor needs to use an additionalbelt to bring the front roller to rotate. Frictions exist respectivelybetween the belt and motor output axle as well as between the belt andthe front roller, and such frictions neutralize certain parts of motoroutput power, undesirably leading to partial losses during transfer ofmotor output power. Furthermore, idle rotations tend to occur in casethat the speed of belt transfer becomes too fast while the contactfriction between the belt and the front roller is insufficient, so thepower output from the motor may not be efficiently transferred the frontroller, thus also resulting in unwanted partial losses in motor outputpower during power transfer.

Accordingly, in view of the amendable drawbacks illustrated as above,the inventors of the instant disclosure, based on long-term studiesalong with profound technical and theoretical researches, provide adesign disclosed herein which effectively improves the defects set forthin the aforementioned texts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The objective of the instant disclosure is to provide a treadmill rollerstructure and a treadmill which configures the motor and the gear setinside or outside of the roller, such that the roller can activelyrotate, facilitating enhancement in performance of the motor and thefeature of space saving. In addition, it is not required to use a beltto bring the roller to rotate, so the friction losses during powertransfer can be desirably reduced, thereby increasing efficiency of themotor as well.

To achieve the objective mentioned as above, the instant disclosureprovides a treadmill roller structure, comprising: a motor, which is aninner-piece out-runner motor and consists of a spindle and a poweroutput section, wherein the power output section rotates relatively tothe spindle; a gear set, which is fixedly installed to the spindle,wherein the power output section engages with the gear set; and a case,wherein the gear set engages with the case, and the case rotatesrelatively to the spindle.

The instant disclosure also provides a treadmill which comprises a base,wherein a front roller and a rear roller are respectively installed atthe front end of the base and the rear end of the base, and a treadmillbelt is set between the front roller and the rear roller, characterizedin that, one of the front roller and the rear roller comprises: a motor,which is an inner-piece out-runner motor and consists of a spindle and apower output section, wherein the power output section rotatesrelatively to the spindle; a gear set, which is fixedly installed to thespindle, wherein the power output section engages with the gear set; anda case, wherein the gear set engages with the case, and the case rotatesrelatively to the spindle.

The instant disclosure enables the following beneficial effects:

1. since the motor and the gear set are installed inside or outside ofthe case, the power generated by the motor can bring the case to rotatedirectly through the engagement between the gear set and the inner gearring. The case can thus actively rotate without additional use of belt,hence advantageously lessening motor output power losses which may occurduring transfer. Besides, simplified roller structure also facilitatesreduction of manufacture cost;

2. as the motor operates, the outputted motor power enables the poweroutput section to rotate, thereby linking the solar gear so in turn theplanetary gear, further together generating rotations of the inner gearring and the case. In this way, by means of the tooth number ratiobetween the solar gear and the planetary gear, the output power from themotor can be amplified in multiples, efficiently transferred to the caseso as to increase the performance of the motor;

3. the motor can be as demand installed inside or outside of the case,so it needs not to reserve space in advance for placement of the motor,thereby effectively scaling down the area required for installation ofthe treadmill, improving convenience in use and facilitating easytransportation.

In order to further appreciate the features and technical contents ofthe instant disclosure, references are hereunder made to the detaileddescriptions of the instant disclosure and appended drawings therefore;whereas the appended drawings are simply exemplary and illustrative,rather than for the purpose of limitations to the instant disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an assembly graph of the treadmill roller structure and thetreadmill according to the instant disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a disassembly graph for a first preferred embodiment of thetreadmill roller structure according to the instant disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a three dimensional view for the first preferred embodiment ofthe treadmill roller structure according to the instant disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a three dimensional view for a second preferred embodiment ofthe treadmill roller structure according to the instant disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a disassembly graph for a third preferred embodiment of thetreadmill roller structure according to the instant disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a three dimensional view for the third preferred embodiment ofthe treadmill roller structure according to the instant disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a three dimensional view for a fourth preferred embodiment ofthe treadmill roller structure according to the instant disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a cross-section view for a fifth preferred embodiment of thetreadmill roller structure according to the instant disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a cross-section view for a sixth preferred embodiment of thetreadmill roller structure according to the instant disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring initially to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The instant disclosure providesa treadmill roller structure. The roller structure is installed at thefront and the rear end of the base 101 of a treadmill 10 to thetreadmill belt 102 around the front and the rear roller 103. The roller103 comprises a motor 1, a gear set 2, a case 3 and a plurality ofmotion limiting assemblies 4.

The motor 1 is an out-runner motor having a motor axle bore 11, anaccommodation chamber 12, a spindle 13 and a power output section 14.The motor axle bore 11 is located in the accommodation chamber 12 of themotor 1. The accommodation chamber 12 is able to accommodate the motionlimiting assemblies 4. The spindle 13 passes through the motor axle bore11 of the motor 1, the gear set 2, the case 3, and the motion limitingassemblies 4. The spindle 13 is a fixed supporting structure that doesnot rotate; rather, the motor 1 is installed through the spindle 13 in afashion that the rotating belt of the motor rotates about the stationaryspindle 13. The power output section 14 is rigidly installed to therotating belt of the motor 1 and is thus rotatable about the stationaryspindle 13 to drive the gear set 2 when power is supplied to the motor.Moreover, the spindle 13 is installed in a cross-over fashion to thebase 101 of the treadmill 10 as a supportive axle for the roller 103.

Gear set 2 comprises of a fixing seat 21, a plurality of planetary gears22, and a solar gear 23. The fixing seat 21 has an axle bore 211 at thecenter for fitting through the spindle 13. The fixing seat is installedon one side of the motor 1. The planetary gears 22 are rotatably mountedto the fixing seat 21 on axle bores 221 such that the three planetarygears 22 are allowed to rotate around individually with respect tobearing 221. The planetary gears 22 are located between the motor 1 andthe fixing seat 21. The solar gear 23 is rigidly installed on the poweroutput section 14, enabling synchronous rotations. In addition, thesolar gear 23 engages with each of the planetary gears 22 to bring eachplanetary gear 22 into self-rotational motion around the bearing 221.

The gear set 2 is engaged to a gear ring 33 of the case 3 to enablerotations of the case 3. Particularly, the case 3 is a hollowcylindrical case. One end of the case 3 is installed to a lockingsection 31. The locking section 31 includes a plurality of locking holes311 enabling rigid fixation between the cover 34 and the locking section31 by the locking element 312. Inside the case 3 there is anaccommodation space 32 and an inner gear ring 33. The inner gear ring 33is rigidly installed to the inner wall of the case 3. In a firstpreferred embodiment, the motor 1 and the gear set 2 are placed in theaccommodation space 32 inside of the case 3 with each of the planetarygears 22 simultaneously engaging with the solar gear 23 and the innergear ring 33, such that the case 3 can be linked to rotate by means ofthe inner gear ring 33 as the planetary gears 22 rotate. Thus, when thepower output section 14 rotates about the spindle 13, the gear set 2will be driven to drive the inner gear ring 33, and thus causingrotation of the case 3. However, although the motor 1 and the gear set 2according to the instant disclosure are installed to one end inside ofthe case 3, it is by no means limited thereto; rather, it is possible toadjust the positions inside of the case 3 wherein the motor 1 and thegear set 2 are actually placed based on application requirements forachieving the same effect as the instant disclosure. Furthermore, in asecond embodiment (as shown in FIG. 4), two motors are used to drive theroller structure. One motor is installed at each end of theaccommodation space 32 inside of the case 3 for enhancing the outputpower to the roller. Also, the roller 103 is individually installed tothe front end of the base 101 and the rear end of the base 101 (as shownin FIG. 1), with one of the two rollers 103 being installed with themotor 1 and the gear set 2 so that the treadmill belt 102 can be broughtto rolling motion around the front and rear rollers 103. In other words,the rear roller 103 may not require a motor 1 and a gear set 2; instead,the motor from the front roller along may provide all the driving powerto the treadmill belt. Moreover, the instant disclosure employs the gearset 2 as a gear-reduction mechanism to increase torque output. Forinstance, the gear set 2 transfers the power from the power outputsection 14 having a smaller radius to the inner gear ring 33 of agreater radius, thus enabling power conversions from the power outputsection 14 having high rotation speed and low torque to the inner gearring 33 of low rotation speed and high torque, thus increasing thetorque output to the case 3. However, it is noted that the gear set 2may be also replaced with other general real-reduction mechanisms forachieving the same results.

The motion limiting assemblies 4 are installed onto the spindle 13. Eachmotion limiting assembly 4 comprises a bearing 41 and a fastener 42. Thespindle 13 passes through the motion limiting axle bore 411 of thebearing 41, and the fastener 42 is buckled onto the spindle 13. Thus,the fastener 42 props up the bearing 41 to refrain the bearing 41 fromsliding.

The spindle 13 and the accommodation space 32 of the instant disclosuremay be of different designs, as referring to FIGS. 5 and 6. In a thirdpreferred embodiment, the spindle 13A is installed with a motor axle131A, a linking element 132A and a roller axle 133A, and the motor axle131A acts as the rotation center axle of the motor 1, the roller axle133A as the rotation center axle of the case 3, while the motor axle131A is set to the outside of the roller axle 133A and the linkingelement 132A clips in connection between the motor axle 131A and theroller axle 133A (as shown in FIG. 6). Additionally, the case 3 isexternally installed in fixation with an accommodation section 32A, withthe accommodation section 32A being fixedly locked to the lockingsection 31 by means of the locking element 312, in which the inner gearring 33 is fixedly installed onto the inner wall of the accommodationsection 32A, with the motor 1 and gear set 2 being placed within theaccommodation section 32A and the cover 34 being fixedly locked to theaccommodation section 32A by using the locking element 341. Each of theplanetary gears 22 simultaneously engages with both the solar gear 23and the inner gear ring 33 such that the accommodation section 32A canbe linked to rotate through the inner gear ring 33 when these planetarygears 22 rotate, further in turn bringing the case 3 to rotate so as toallow the case 3 to rotate relatively to the spindle 13A of the motor 1.Besides, the locking section 31 can be installed with a plurality ofthrough holes 313 for lessening the weight of the case 3 in order toadjust power balance as the roller 103 rotates, thereby achieving themost stable and effective power output. Next, referring then to FIG. 7,in a fourth preferred embodiment of the instant disclosure, theaccommodation section 32A at the both ends of the case 3 is respectivelyinstalled with a motor 1 for increasing output power of the roller.

Refer subsequently to FIG. 8, in a fifth preferred embodiment of theinstant disclosure as shown, when the motor 1 and the gear set 2 areplaced in the accommodation space 32 within the case 3, the motor axle131A of the motor 1 is set on the roller axle 133A inside of the case 3and the linking element 132A is used to clip in connection to the rolleraxle 133A thus also achieving the same effect.

Refer next to FIG. 9, in a sixth preferred embodiment of the instantdisclosure as shown, suppose that the motor 1 and the gear set 2 areplaced in the accommodation space 32 external to the case 3, the spindle13B is now formed by connecting the motor axle 131B of the motor 1 withthe roller axle 132B inside of the case 3, with motor axle 131B actingas the rotation center axle of the motor 1 and the roller axle 132Bbeing the rotation center axle of the case 3, thus also achieving thesame effect.

In summary, the instant disclosure is allowed to provide the followingfeatures:

1. since the motor 1 and the gear set 2 are installed inside or outsideof the case 3, the power generated by the motor 1 can bring the case 3to rotate directly through the engagement between the gear set 2 and theinner gear ring 33. The case 3 can thus actively rotate withoutadditional use of belt, hence advantageously lessening motor 1 outputpower losses which may occur during transfer. Besides, simplified roller103 structure also facilitates reduction of manufacture cost;

2. as the motor 1 operates, the output power from motor 1 enables thepower output section 14 to rotate, thereby linking the solar gear 23 soin turn the planetary gear 22, further together generating rotations ofthe inner gear ring 33 and the case 3. In this way, by means of thetooth number ratio between the solar gear 23 and the planetary gear 22,the output power from the motor 1 can be amplified in multiples,efficiently transferred to the case 3 so as to increase the performanceof the motor 1;

3. the motor 1 can be as demand installed inside or outside of the case3, so it needs not to reserve space in advance for placement of themotor 1, thereby effectively scaling down the area required forinstallation of the treadmill 10, improving convenience in use andfacilitating easy transportation.

The aforementioned texts illustrate only the preferred embodiments ofthe instant disclosure rather than limiting the scope of the instantdisclosure thereto; all effectively equivalent changes, modificationsand substitutions made in accordance with the present disclosure andappended drawings are deemed as being included in the instant disclosuredefined by the following claims.

1. A treadmill comprising: a base, having a front roller and a rearroller installed respectively at the front end and the rear end of thebase, a treadmill belt disposed around the front roller and the rearroller, at least one roller structure, comprising: a motor, wherein themotor is an out-runner motor having a spindle and a power outputsection, wherein the power output section rotates around the spindle; agear set rotatably installed onto the spindle, wherein the power outputsection is engaged to the gear set; and a case, wherein the gear set isengaged to the case, causing the case to rotate about the spindle. 2.The treadmill according to claim 1, wherein the gear set is adeceleration mechanism.
 3. The treadmill according to claim 2, whereinthe gear set consists of a solar gear and a plurality of planetarygears, the solar gear is fixedly installed to the power output sectionand engages with each of the planetary gears, and an inner gear ring isfixedly installed onto the inner wall of the case, with each of theplanetary gears simultaneously engaging with the solar gear and theinner gear ring.
 4. The treadmill according to claim 3, wherein theplanetary gear is rotatably installed on a fixing seat, and wherein thefixing seat is placed on one side of the motor, and the planetary gearbeing located between the motor and the fixing seat.
 5. The treadmillaccording to claim 1, wherein the spindle passes through the motor, thegear set, and the case.
 6. The treadmill according to claim 1, whereinthe spindle is installed with a motor axle, a linking element and rolleraxle, in which the motor axle acts as the rotation center axle of themotor, the roller axle acts as the rotation center axle of the case, themotor axle is set outside of the roller axle, and the linking elementclips in connection to the motor axle and the roller axle.
 7. Thetreadmill according to claim 1, wherein the spindle is formed byconnecting a motor axle with a roller axle, in which the motor axle actsas the rotation center axle of the motor and the roller axle is therotation center axle of the case.
 8. The treadmill according to claim 1,wherein an accommodation space and an inner gear ring are installedinside of the case, in which the inner gear ring is fixedly installedonto the inner wall of the case, the motor and the gear set are placedwithin the accommodation space, the gear set engages with the inner gearring and the case rotates relatively to the spindle.
 9. The treadmillaccording to claim 8, wherein the accommodation space is installed withanother motor, in which the motor and the installed another motor arerespectively placed at the two ends of the accommodation space.
 10. Thetreadmill according to claim 1, wherein the case is externally installedin fixation with an accommodation section and an inner gear ring, inwhich the inner gear ring is fixedly installed onto the inner wall ofthe accommodation section, the motor and the gear set are placed in theaccommodation section, the gear set engages with the inner gear ring andthe accommodation section brings the case to rotate relatively to thespindle.
 11. The treadmill according to claim 10, wherein the case isexternally installed with another motor, in which the motor and theinstalled another motor are respectively placed at the two ends of thecase.